Ground fitting



April 20, 1937- c. G. BoNDEsoN 2,077,613

GROUND FITTING Filed Dec. 31, 1934 AT. RNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1937 UNITED e STATES yao'zmis GaoUNn FITTING Carl G. Bondeson, Terryville, Conn., assigner to The Andrew Terry Company, Terryville, Conn., a corporation oi' Connecticut Application December 31, 1934, Serial No. '759,900

8 Claims.

'Ihis invention relates to grounding devices for electrical systems, 4and more particularly, to means for connecting an electrical conductor and its conduit,` if such be provided, to a grounding 5 pipe or the like. f

An object of this invention is to ,provide a grounding device in which the several parts are rigid and in which a bare grounding wire may be securely clamped to one of the fixtures making l up the device independently of the lend' of the grounding wire which is fastened to the fixture around a binding.` post or the like.

Afurther object of this invention is to provide means which may clamp the grounding wire 15 independently of the end thereof in such a way that it may be employed to clamp and securely hold a metallic or non-metallic enclosure for the wire, or even a flexible armored conduit through which the grounding wire extends. In the latter 20 case, not only is the wire Agrounded through the device of the present invention, but the ilexible armored conduit will also be grounded because 'the clamp is in mechanical and electrical contact with the grounding pipe when the' device of '25 the present invention is applied thereto. Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear. y

In the accompanying drawing, which illus'- trates one form of my invention, that at present 30 preferred- Figure 1 is a front view, showing the device of .the present invention applied to a grounding pipe and holding in position a exible armored caile through which the grounding wire extends'.

Fig. l. I

Fig. 3 is a front view, showing a bare grounding wire clampedto the device, the cover plate being removed and the bolt being shown in section, to 40 illustrate the manner in which the end of the grounding wire lies in the channel provided for its reception.

Fig. 4 is an end view oi' the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but showing a grounding wire with 45 a non-metallic covering clamped to the device.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of theparts shown in Fig. 3, but showing the coiled end of the grounding wire clamped in place by the Fig. 2 is 'a side view of the device shown in (Cl. 247-4)l xtures, a xture I0 which is to be attached to a groundingpipe II and a vfixture I2 which, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, may be attached to a iiexible armored conduit I3 for a grounding wire, a covered grounding wire I4, as shownlink Fig. 4, a bare grounding wire I5 as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, or a rigid conduit or pipe 45 as shown in Fig. 7.

The fixture I0, which engages the grounding pipe is made in two parts I0a and Ilib. The part Illa is the main part and is provided with a V-shaped jaw I6 and a pair of laterally extending ears I1. The part- Iilb is a clamping plate and has a V-shaped jaw IB and ears I9 matching with the ears I1 on the part I 0a. According to the present invention, the ears Illb have screwthreaded apertures carrying draft' screws 20 and the ears I'i on the part Ina are provided with apertures 2l to receive the screws`20;

So that the screw need not be completely ref moved from the clamping piece Ib to secure the parts Ilia and Illb together, the apertures 2| in the ears I1 are provided with laterally opening entrance slots 22 wide enough to permit thev screws 20 to enter the apertures 2i.l To hold the screws from shifting laterally out of the apertures 2I, the ears are provided with depressed seats 23 for washers 24 carried by the screws 20. When the two parts Ilia and IIIb'of the ilxture I 0 are placed on opposite sides of the grounding pipe II and the screws 20 are passed through the slots 22 and inserted in the apertures 2l, the screws aretightened to draw the parts Illa and IIIb together, and, in doing this, the washers 24 enter the seats 23 and lhold the screws 20 and the parts Ilia and I0b from shifting `relative to each other. The jaws I6 and I8 suitable form of teeth to bite into and grip a grounding pipe, and they are so shaped and the draft screws 2li are made so long that the parts I 0a and Ilib maybe clamped around pipes of widely different diameters.

According to the present invention, the ilxture may be provided with any 5 I2 may be generally circular in shape. It has an end portion 25 which bears against a ilat portion 2B on the part Illa of the fixture' I0. 'The body of the fixture I2 `has a' central aperture 21 to align with an aperture 28 in the part 10a. 'I'he aper ture 28 is preferably screw-threaded and receives a bolt 29 for securing the xtures I0 and I2 together.

The xture I2 is rotatable on the fixture Ill about the axis of the bolt 29, and for the purpose of aligning the fixtures I0 and I2 and guiding them in their rotating movements prior to the insertion of the bolt 29, the fixture Ill may have a cylindrical boss 30 tting a cylindrical socket v3| in the fixture I2, as shown in Fig. 5.

The fixture I2 is provided with an annular re- 5 cess 32 to partially receive a coiled end 33 of the grounding Wire I5, see Fig. 3. This coiled end 33 is confined in the recess 32 and secured in good mechanical and electrical contact with the fixture I2 by, a cover plate 34 which, in the form l shown, is disk-shaped and is slipped on the bolt 29 so that when the latter is inserted through the fixtures I2 and I0, the` plate 34 will cover the coiled end 33 of the grounding wire and clamp it in position.' A lock washer 35 may be inserted l between the cover plate 34 and the head of the bolt to lock the bolt against turning under the influence of vibrations, etc. A

If the plate 34 and bolt 29 were solely relied upon to secure the end 33 of the grounding wire I 5 to the iixture I2, due to the absence of any jaw-like gripping action between the plate'and the end of the grounding wire, a violent pull on the grounding wire might withdraw the end 33 from the channel 32.

To avoid this, the present invention provides means independent of the screw 2S for clamping the grounding wire to the iixture I2. For this purpose, the iixture I2 is provided with a lateral extension 35 having a channel 3l extending preferably radially from the iixture I2 and intersecting 'the recess 32.

In the form of the invention herein disclosed,

the grounding wire I5 is clamped in thechannel 31 by a clamping piece 38 which is preferably in the form of a 'strap having apertured ears 39 at each side and a channeled portion 40 between the apertured ears. When the channeled portion 4d is registered with the channeled portion 3l' of the lateral extension 3B, the apertures in the ears 39 40 register with threaded apertures 4I in ears 42 on the lateral extension to receive draft screws 43 carried by the ears 39.

When the clamping piece 4I! is thus mounted on the lateral extension 3S and the screws 43 are backed out to permit suiiicient clearance between the jaws constituted by the surfaces of the channels 31 and 46, the end of the grounding wire may be passed through these channels and coiled about the axis of the bolt 23 to lie in the recess 32. Then the screws 43 are tightened to draw the clamping plate 38 toward the lateral extension 36 clamping the grounding wire with a jaw-like action. Tofurther increase the jaw-like grip applied to the grounding wire by the channeled portions 31 and 40, each of these may beprovlded with ribs 44, see Figs. 5 and 6, to bite into the grounding wire.

When the grounding wire is thus held, it will be seen that strains are taken from the portion '60 thereof which is held under the cover plate 34,

and thus while the channeled portions 38 and 40 or their ribs 44 may not make good or suiicient electrical contact between the grounding wire and the xture I2, they do make good mechani- 65 cal engagement and contact to relieve the strains on the coiled end of the wire and prevent it from being drawn out of the xture.

According to the present invention, the channels 31 and 40 in the lateral extension 36 and 70 clamping plate 38 respectively are substantially V-shaped so as to nly grip the wire and so as to serve to grip things of various diameters, and

the screws 43 are made long enough to permit a` wide separation of the clamping plate 4II from 75 the lateral extension 36. Accordingly, instead of pipe 45 may be inserted in the channels 31 and 4I) to be clamped to the fixture I2 by the clamping piece 38 and screws 43.

With the device of the present invention, it is not necessary to place a bend in the grounding wire or its conduit in order` that it may be inserted through the channels 31 and 4Il, for the iixture I 2 is rotatable on the iixture I0, and hence the axis of the channels may be brought into alignment with the grounding wire or its conduit regardless of the angle at which the same 'approaches vthe grounding pipe.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters Patent, iszl.- An electrical connection comprising a nizture having screw-operatedclamping jaws with pipe-engaging yoke portions, for attachment to a grounding pipe; a second xture; and means connecting the second fixture to the pipe-engaging yoke portion of one of said jaws for relative rotary movements, said second fixture having a lug extending laterally oi the connecting means,

provided with a channel'to receive a bare Wire, a

covered wire, or a iexible armored conduit, and a pair of ears at each side of said channel, and a clamping piece adapted to overlie said lateral extension of said second fixture and provided with ears corresponding to the ears on said lateral extension, and screws extending through said ears on the clamping piece and on the laterallextension for drawing the clamping piece toward the lateral extension to clamp a bare or covered grounding wire, or flexible armored conduit for the grounding wire to thev second xture;

2. An electrical connection comprising a iixture having screw-operated clamping jaws for attachment to a ground pipe; a second xture; and means for connecting the iixtures together for relative rotary movements, said second xture having a lateral extension provided with a 'channel to receive a bare wire, a covered wire, or a flexible armored conduit and a pair of ears at each side of the channel, and a clamping piece adapted to overlie said lateral extension of said second fixture and provided with ears corresponding to the ears on said lateral extension, and screws extending through said ears on the clamping piece and on the lateral extension for drawing the clamping piece toward the lateral extension to clamp a bare or covered grounding wire. or iiexibie armored conduit for the grounding wire to the second lixture, and said second fixture also having an annular recess intersected by the channel thereof, within which recess the end oi' a grounding wire passing between\the lateral extension and said clamping piece may be confined by the means forconnecting the fixtures together.

3. An electrical connection comprising a iixture having screw-operated clamping jaws for attachment to a grounding pipe; a second xture; and means for connecting the xtures together for relative rotary movements, said second fixture having a lateral extension provided with a channel to receive a bare wire, a covered wire, or a flexible armored conduit and a pair of ears at each side of the chanel, and a clamping piece adapted to overlie said lateral extension of said second fixture and provided with ears correspending to the ears on said lateral extension, and screws extending through said ears on the clamping piece and on the lateral extension for drawing the clamping piece toward the lateral extension to clamp a bare or covered grounding wire, or fiexible armored conduit for the grounding wire to the second fixture, and said second fixture having a circular recess intersected by the channel thereof, within which recess a coiled end of cess against the-coiled end of the wire contained therein.

4'. An electrical connection comprising a fixture having screw-operated clamping jaws with pipe-engaging yoke portions, for attachment to a grounding pipe; a second fixture; means connecting the second fixture to the pipe-engaging yoke portion of one of said jaws for relative rotary movements, including a screw for fastening the end of a grounding wire to said second fixture in electrical contact therewith; and auxiliary means including a strap having a pair ofclamp ing ears for clamping the grounding wire to said second fixture to relieve from pulling strains the end of the grounding wire attached by said screw.

5. An electrical connection comprising 'a xture having screw-operatedclamping jaws with pipe-engaging yoke portions, for attachment to a grounding pipe; a second fixture; means connecting the second fixture to the pipe-engaging yoke portion of one of said jaws for relativerotary movements, including a screw for fastening the end of a grounding wire to said second fixture in electrical contact therewith; and a movable jaw clamp having a strap witha pair of clamping ears for securing the grounding wire to said second fixture to relieve from pulling strains the end of the grounding wire attached by said screw. r

6. An electrical connection comprising a fixture having screw-operated clamping jawsA with pipe-engaging yoke portions, for attachment to a grounding pipe; a second fixture; means connecting the second fixture to the pipe-engaging yoke portion of one of said jaws for relative rotary movements, including a screw for fastening the end of a grounding wire to said second fixture in electrical contact therewith; and a rigid two-jaw clamp .having a strap with a pair of clamping ears for securing the grounding wire to said second fixture to relieve from pulling strains the end of the grounding wire attached by said screw.

7. An electrical connection comprising a fixture having screw-operated clamping jaws with pipe-engaging yoke portions, for attachment to a grounding pipe; a second fixture; means connecting the second fixture to the pipe-engaging yoke portion of one of said jaws for`relative rotary movements, including a screw for fastening the end of a grounding wire to said second fixture in electrical contact therewith; and an adjustable clamp on said second fixture including a lstrap having a pair of clamping ears for engaging and securing a grounding wire or a fiexible armored conduit to said second fixture.

8. An electrical connection comprising a xture having screw-operated clamping jaws with 'pipe-engaging yoke portions, for attachment to endlof the grounding wire attached by said screw,

said clamping means being adjustable to engage and hold either a bare or covered grounding wire.

CARL G. BONDESON. 

